The 12-day Cannes gathering is actually four events in one: the festival, the market, the media binge and an international schmooze-a-palooza, where people from the other three groups can meet with colleagues.

There is one hallowed tradition that caters to all four needs: The Cannes party.

These events are often tied to a film’s global launch, but there is no correlation between the success of a film and the success of its fete.

Do you have special memories of “The Swan Princess,” “The Perez Family” or “My Blueberry Nights”? I didn’t think so. But some Cannes vets glow at the mere mention of those parties.

On the other hand, it’s hard to recall the galas after fest hits “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”; “Fahrenheit 9/11”; “Up”; and “Amour.”

See the pattern? No, because there isn’t one. Cannes pic parties are like marketing campaigns: They are supposed to reflect the film, but sometimes they don’t.

The festival always throws an opening-night dinner, which is invariably tasteful, smart and interesting. But film people like to do things their own way, so there is always a post-party party. Below are a handful that have entered into fest lore, for their scope, ambition and cash outlay.

Related

1991: “In Bed With Madonna”
Nobody seems to recall details of the bash, except that it was the hottest ticket in the history of the world. Dino De Laurentiis, who was a mega-showman, was distributing the docu “Truth or Dare” (retitled “In Bed With Madonna” in Europe) so he threw an event at the Palm Beach Casino. Madonna and De Laurentiis held court with the 900 guests including Eddie Murphy, Roman Polanski, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tina Turner and Jack Valenti. Now there’s a combo for ya!

1997: “The Fifth Element”
For the opening-night shindig, French film company Gaumont built a massive event space by the sea, more than 100,000 square feet. Guests were given a special “Fifth Element” Swatch that served as their ticket to the party, which featured a futuristic ballet, fashion show of Jean-Paul Gaultier costumes and fireworks. Gaumont set a new standard for Cannes extravaganzas, at a record cost estimated between $1 million and $3 million.

2000: “Vatel”
Gaumont strikes again! The after-party in the Palais elaborately re-created the 17th-century French chateau depicted in the Roland Joffe-directed film, with nearly 100 actors in period costumes — including dancers, musicians, footmen and laundry-folding maids. Since the film features a fireworks display, there were indoor pyrotechnics, culminating with the flower pots on each table bursting into sparkling confetti.

2001: “Moulin Rouge”
After the film and the tasteful festival dinner, guests migrated near the Old Port, where Fox built a re-creation of the Moulin Rouge club, featuring velvet walls, can-can dancers and Fatboy Slim as DJ. The event lasted until nearly dawn and marked a new era of Hollywood’s heated-up romance with Cannes, after a subdued decade (Cliffhanger, Blues Brothers 2000, Mission to Mars and some offerings even less stellar).

2001: “The Lord of the Rings”
It wasn’t an opening-night bash, but it remains one of the gold standards of Cannes parties. New Line coordinated a four-day tubthump for the first “Lord of the Rings,” screening 20 minutes of footage to overseas investors and media members. The Croisette buzz culminated when the company bused 1,000 guests up to Chateau de Castellaras. At an estimated $2 million, the event featured endless amounts of food and booze; sets were imported from New Zealand so the crowd was wowed by Hobbit homes and giant ogres. As Variety noted at the time, “even the portable toilets were charmingly decorated.”

2004: “De-Lovely”
MGM invited 2,500 guests to a series of rooms built from Majestic Beach to the Old Port area, in an event that one exec confided cost $3.5 million-$5 million. (Hey, beachfront property is expensive!) Guests looked across the water toward the Cannes lighthouse to watch fireworks, film clips of MGM classics, and a concert of Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow and Natalie Cole warbling Cole Porter tunes. Years later, festgoers recalled the party more than the film.

2006: “The Da Vinci Code”
Anticipation was high. Dan Brown’s book had sold 40 million copies. Sony planned to launch the film on a record 11,900 screens globally. The cast, filmmakers and media rode a train from London to Cannes that was basically a 10-hour press junket. Sony brought 150 marketers from around the globe. Critics were given an unprecedented screening 24 hours before the opening-night gala. The premiere would take place in not one theater but two. Everything was on an epic scale — including the media backlash. The critics shocked Sony and fest honchos by breaking the review embargo, posting their withering reviews before the premiere. On opening night, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and company slunk up the red steps with frozen smiles. The party was elaborate and expensive, but even that got bad reviews. Sony had erected a giant pyramid near the Old Port for the gala, but ventilation was faulty and everybody was in a bad mood. If “Moulin Rouge” was the Woodstock of Cannes-Hollywood parties — peace, love, harmony and entertainment! — then “The Da Vinci Code” was Altamont. Pundits predicted that studios would never again spend so much to woo so few. But the film ended up raking in $758 million worldwide, so all was forgiven.

Sign Up for Daily Insider Newsletter

The 91st Academy Awards are just four days away. This year’s broadcast, the first in decades without a host, should be a memorable one. For once, comic book movies such as “Black Panther” have been invited to the party and the crop of best picture contenders includes a number of blockbusters such as “A Star [...]

Stars party all around Hollywood before, during, and after the Oscars. Here, Variety hits the town to give you the inside scoop on all the star-studded soirées. Keep checking back throughout the weekend for the latest updates… Variety x Armani Beauty Makeup Artistry Dinner Sunset Tower, Los Angeles, Feb. 20Variety and Giorgio Armani Beauty honored makeup artists Molly [...]

“Monty Python’s Life of Brian” is heading back into movie theaters to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the classic comedy film. Trafalgar Releasing took the rights to the film last year. The event cinema specialist is planning a 400-screen release on April 18 that will span the U.K. and U.S. as well as territories [...]

Cohen Media Group has acquired U.S. rights to Safy Nebbou’s “Who You Think I Am,” the critically acclaimed film starring Juliette Binoche which world premiered in the Berlin Film Festival’s Special Gala section. “Who You Think I Am” turned out to be a hot title among international distributors at the EFM and was sold throughout [...]

Yeun Seung-ro has been appointed as CEO of CGV Mars Entertainment, the Korean-owned company that operates Turkey’s largest cinema chain. He replaces Kwak Dong Won, another veteran of the CJ-CGV group. The change of personnel may reflect two ongoing battles within the Turkish film industry. CJ-CGV, which bought Mars for some $650 million in 2016. [...]

MADRID — Woody Allen is re-teaming with Spain’s Mediapro, one of Europe’s biggest independent film-TV companies, to develop his next film with an eye it seems to shooting in Spain. Mediapro co-financed and co-produced two of Allen’s highest-grossing movies, 2008’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” which grossed $96.4 million worldwide, and 2011’s “Midnight in Paris” which earned [...]